CALDWELL Parental guidance and old-fashioned luck helped Gaffney High senior Carson Caldwell graduate with 12 years of perfect attendance.

Caldwell and Blacksburg High senior Kimberly Moore were among 66 seniors statewide this year to graduate without missing a single day of school. This translates to attending 2,160 consecutive school days.

The students joined 44,000 seniors in receiving high school diplomas at graduation ceremonies across the state as the 2009-2010 school year winds down.

Caldwell never missed a day of school, including two years in preschool.

“My parents helped me go to school,” Caldwell said. “I never really had the flu. I had the common cold, but that only came once a year. I always felt I had to go to school.”

Caldwell will attend Coastal Carolina this fall and major in secondary education.

After his first year, Caldwell said he plans to try out for the college’s soccer team. He was a captain on the Gaffney High soccer team. He wants to become a science teacher.

MOORE Since 1979, students with 12 years of perfect attendance have been recognized by the state Department of Education. They receive certificates and congratulatory letters from State Superintendent Dr. Jim Rex’s office.

This year’s 66 students with perfect attendance are from districts and high schools both large and small in South Carolina.

Greenville, the state’s largest district, had the most students graduating with perfect attendance with 10, including four at Mauldin High School. Dorman High School also had four students with perfect attendance.

Dreher High in Richland One, Landrum High in Spartanburg One and Woodruff High in Spartanburg Four each had three students who ended their academic careers with perfect attendance.